Know The Fire I Have For You
by StarSlingerSnitch
Summary: Yoko is upset about seeing Ryuji's weak point. Hiromu is the last person expected to comfort her and yet...he does. Rewrite of Go Buster Mission 5 ending


**A/N: Hey everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? I've just been writing and gearing up for this other big story I'm going to do but it is going to be on asianfanfics instead. Anyway, I'm going to be out of town for the next few days or so. I probably won't be able to PM or write or anything, so I decided to leave you guys with this. It's a little something I wrote back when I watched all of Go Busters in one sitting-literally. It's probably my favorite Sentai season. Anyway, this takes place during Mission 5. Please give this story lots of love!**

Dust clouds from the wall swirl around them. She can feel it caking on her face along with splatters of dirt from the fight before. But she doesn't pay attention to it.

All she can focus on is how Ryuji-_her_ Ryuji-had just punched the wall beside her head. He had almost hit her. He didn't recognize her. Didn't know her.

And it hurt worse than all the previous fights combined.

She doesn't move from the wall when he leans closer to her. He's smiling, enjoying the power he has over her. She doesn't take her eyes off of his face. She's paralyzed, shocked, with fear and sadness. He's a completely different person.

A monster.

_No._ No matter what he does, Ryuji will _never_ be a monster. He's like her older brother, her best friend. He will never be like one.

Right?

"I really don't appreciate you following me around," he whispers menacingly as he leans one arm against the wall. She presses harder against it, wanting to be as far away from him as possible. _What is he going to do next?_

He backs up, still smiling. Her eyes lower to the ground and then rise up slowly. Rise up in time to see him fall.

"Ryuji!" Gorisaki runs up and dumps a bag of ice on Ryuji, the ice spilling out as it is thrown on him. Smoke rises from Ryuji's body as he begins to cool down.

She still stares at him in horror as she slides down the wall, coming to rest on her knees, never looking away from him.

"Are you alright Yoko?" Gorisaki asks. She can't answer, still stunned by the revelation of a part of Ryuji. All this time she's known him and she's never seen him like that. He was a different person, a scarier version of himself.

"Ryu-san…he tried to…he did…why?" She can't get out any more than that. Her heart is working its way up her throat as she feels like she's going to be sick. Hot tears are welling up in her eyes and she rips them away from Ryuji's prone body. Just the thought of what Ryuji could've done and what he did do are enough to make her nauseous.

"When he's overheated, he's not himself anymore. It's like getting drunk off of power. It's not like he wanted to actually hurt you, Yoko!" She tunes out Gorisaki's explanation. When he overheats, he's different. That much is obvious. She just didn't expect that he would be so different. Different enough that he wouldn't recognize her, that he would try and hurt her.

"I know, but…but he didn't even…didn't even know who I was…" Tears leak from her eyes, coming down her cheeks, hissing with the pleasure of release. She tries to fight them but soon it's too tiring and she gives up, letting them continue to rain down. It's been so long since she's really let herself go, really let her emotions show and this just sent her over the edge.

"Oh Yoko! Oh, she's crying, she's crying!" Gorisaki's unpleasant musings are enough to try and make her stop again. But she can't. Once she's started, it takes a lot for her to stop. She feels like she can fill an entire ocean with her tears and still have some left in her body.

They're tears of shock, of sadness, of everything. She's crying for Ryuji, for his weak point, for her parents, for the world, for everything and anything that's felt pain she feels like she's shedding tears for it.

Ryuji…he had tried to hurt her. Her older brother was like a villain, destroying everything in his path. He wasn't the Ryuji she knew and it was too much for her. Now that she knows everything about him, she sees him in a different light.

"Yoko, I need you to rendezvous with Hiromu. The enemy Megazord is going to finish transporting in six minutes." Her brace blares out. Her tears stop flowing and her breathing slows. Before, she had been sobbing into her hands, trying to muffle the sounds, trying to not look at Ryuji, trying to stop herself.

"But Commander, Yoko's a little-"

"Roger." She cuts him off, her voice a little raspy. She needs to take her mind off of this and fighting a Megazord is the perfect escape.

"Are you alright?" asks Gorisaki but she ignores him as she gets up. She can't get herself to say anything understandable anyway. She doesn't even know what to say so she keeps quiet and wipes her face. Keeping her gaze away from Gorisaki, she turns her back on him and swipes her sleeve across her face once again. She sees Ryuji from the corner of her eye, still unconscious and her mind flies back to how he was before she saw his weak point.

Kind. Smart. Protective. Strong.

Now he is still all of those things but there's a darkness there that wasn't before.

She starts to run away from them, as fast as she can, almost as if she can outrun the scenes she just witnessed. Her mind, however, shows her everything over and over again. Why can't it just stop and let her be in peace?

_I wish I could destroy you like you are doing to me or at least try and erase and change things. _

She keeps her head down, staring at the gray pavement as she continues to sprint to Hiromu and Nick. She tries to keep her mind off of what had happened but of course it only makes her think about it more. She lifts her head, though, when she sees two figures in red near a truck. It looks like they're changing a tire or something.

She steels herself to be strong, to try and get through this fight before she can go and break down once again. She's never one to show her sadness. Happiness, sure. Anger, most definitely. But sadness? Not something she wants to be known for.

She comes up just in time to hear Hiromu say fine, in his huffy, sarcastic voice.

"What's fine?" she asks, coming to a stop behind them. They turn slowly, their faces surprised at her appearance. She narrows her eyes at them, just wanting to get this over with,

"What?" Their expressions are strange and she's not in the mod for this right now. Ryuji probably would be good at keeping his face blank. But he's not here…

_Don't think about it._

Nick walks forward with and stops right in front of her. Hiromu is surprisingly quiet but she still ignores him.

"Yoko…" Nick says softly, taking out a mirror. She gazes at her reflection, dust streaking her face, eyes narrowed and wet, dirt dusted on her cheeks and forehead, tear tracks clearly visible.

Gasping softly, she turns from them, dragging her sleeve across her face. She wipes at it, trying to make herself more presentable. Typically, on top of everything else, she now has to worry about her dirty face as well. Embarrassment overrides her.

"You've been crying," Hiromu observes. She clenches her fists as they swipe at her cheeks. He's already annoying and she's really not in the mood for his thoughtless sayings. She's been hurt enough for today.

"No, I haven't," she declares, her back still turned. She wants everyone just to leave her alone so she can pull herself together enough to at least fight. And for Hiromu to be asking such outright questions is not helping.

"You knew we all had weak points," he points out. How can he say that to her? Of course she knows, but to be confronted with Ryuji's head-on and so harshly, is a different story.

"Yeah, I know!" she cries at him, biting her lip. For him to be on her case right now, after everything, is unbearable. Why can't he just, for once, keep his mouth shut?

"It's just…he was so…so…he didn't even…didn't even recognize me…" she trails off, tears once again threatening to overflow. She continues to brush at her face, grasping at anything to distract her from this. Telling this to Hiromu is almost like reliving it all over again.

Of course this isn't the worst thing to happen to her and it won't be the last but shock is a funny thing. It comes quickly, suddenly, and no matter what you do or say, it stays around a long time after you think you've gotten over it.

And it was worse that it was Ryuji.

"It wasn't the Ryu-san I know…he was so different…" she sniffs, trying to keep her tears in. To break down now is not ideal but the horror and shock from it is still fresh and makes the tears slide down her face.

"So you're just shocked that there's more to him then you knew?" Hiromu says. Her eyes widen. How can he take this so lightly? Is he that uncaring to even suggest such a thing? Does he even know what she's feeling?

"That's not it!" She cries, whirling around to face them. Hiromu is so casual looking, so carefree that that's it. She's had enough.

"That's not even close to it! To see him like that was heartbreaking! You have no idea how it was, how hard it was! You have no idea what I'm going through and for you to take it so lightly is even worse!" He looks so surprised, so shocked at her outburst but that only fuels her more. Nick makes a move to calm her but she shakes him off. She can't stop yelling at him, letting her control break and all the things she never thought she'd say spilling out of her mouth.

"You have no idea how I'm feeling right now! You could at least try and be nice, even if it is such a stretch for you! You could at least try and understand me! You could, for once, at least care how I feel! Don't you dare act like you know it all when really, you have no idea!" The flood of words stops. She can't go on and drops down right there, the tears coming down harder now. She feels like she just told them all her secrets, showed them every part of herself, so that now they see how vulnerable she really is.

"Yoko…" Nick says softly but she keeps her eyes away from them. It is now tearing her up inside, how they could think so little of what she's going through. Hiromu is so self-involved, so thoughtless, that she can't even look at him. No one understands her. The bitter sting that had started when she first saw Ryuji is now growing, expanding, taking over her as she realizes how alone she really is.

Feet stop in front of her but she still stares at the ground. She didn't even hear the footsteps until they're right under her eyes. She sniffs again, wanting to just disappear. Maybe then everything would be okay.

Two warm hands encircle her wrists and pull her up into a standing position. She's surprised but still looks down until one wrist is released and tips her chin up instead. Her eyes are raised to now look into Hiromu's.

_What? _

Hiromu…showing compassion to her. After everything he had just said, after everything she had just put out into the open, he was now in front of her, _touching_ her.

"Yoko…" He cups the back of her neck and pulls her to him, slowly, until she rests against his chest. As unusual as it is, it's comforting. He's hugging her gently, letting her just rest and feel and just be. Her hands are clasped tightly under her chin as she leans into him letting out more tears, them feeling like poison. He doesn't say anything, just holds her to him, letting her cry, feeling her body shake.

"You're right," he whispers into her hair. Her eyes widen a little, astounded he would ever say that to her. For Hiromu, he had to always be right, always be the best. To admit he's wrong is a considerably unusual thing to do. But she's not complaining. Because really, all she wants was for someone to pull her close, hold her tight and reassure her everything is going to be okay.

"I don't know what you're feeling. I don't know how it was to see Ryuji like that, because I don't see him that way. It was wrong of me to say what I did. But don't ever suggest that I don't care how you feel, because I do."

_Even if it never seems like it. _The unspoken words hover in the air.

"Hiromu…" she trails off, touched by his words. It's true, he is one to almost never say what he means and to usually include something snide in with something sappy, but here he seems really heartfelt. Maybe…maybe he does care about her after all. Maybe the whole high-and-mighty thing is really just his way of coping with how he really feels about her…about the Go Busters. Maybe it's like a cry for help.

Maybe she's looking way too much into this.

She stares into his eyes, dark pools set deep into his face. One could look as far into them as you want and still wouldn't be able to see straight through them. She could barely read them. Even now, they hide many things in their depths.

He's gazing back at her with his own, his face blank. Although, if she looks hard enough, she can see real emotion stirring deep in his eyes. Friendliness maybe. Or kindness. Compassion. Something usually not seen. And something usually not directed at her.

"Well," Hiromu coughs, releasing her and taking a step back, looking down at the ground. She lowers her eyes as well. Without him holding her, even though he's never done it before, she feels like a part of herself is missing. Actually, two parts. The part that Ryuji fills is gone. But strangely, she does feel better.

So maybe Ryuji has a dark side. He still loves her. She still loves him, they're still friends. He's still her brother. All this time, he had hid that part just to protect her from the monster he became. That shows how much she means to him, so maybe having that dark side is a good thing.

In some twisted way.

Nick stares at them both incredulously as Hiromu gazes at the ground, seemingly interested in the cracks of the pavement. She feels her cheeks heating up and is grateful for the interruption that is coming from their braces.

"Enemy Megazord is transporting in!" Hiromu and Yoko look at each other, still slightly uncomfortable from the previous scene. It's funny, a few minutes ago Yoko would've given anything to be in a fight, to take her mind off of things. But now…

Well maybe it's for the best. Now she has even more stuff to think about.

"Morishita, where's the Megazord?" Hiromu asks into his brace, still avoiding her eyes. There's a slight shake to his voice that she can detect but he quickly clears his throat again and it's gone.

"It's about three kilometers northwest of you, heading in your direction." He closes the call mode and meets Yoko's eyes, his bangs almost obscuring his own. They had taken an oath, to put the sake of everyone before their own needs. To talk about what just happened, to explore their own feelings, is a luxury they can't afford right now. All efforts have to be on defeating the Megazord.

"We've replaced the tire." One of the drivers running up tells them.

"We're not going to be safe here. We'd better move out," Hiromu instructs, thinking the whole thing through. The driver agrees and goes off to tell the others to get ready to leave.

"So the zord's northwest of here which means we just need to escape…" Nick gazes around, unsure for a moment. Despite all she's been through, she can't help but let the corners of her mouth twitch at Nick's sense of direction.

"Southeast," cuts in Hiromu, processing the information quickly. Yoko…" he pauses for a second at her name before shaking it off and continuing. "You escort 108. We'll handle the Megazord." They look at each other before Yoko squints her eyes, lowering them to the pavement, unable to stare him in the eyes.

"Okay…" she says, still not fully recovered. Hiromu helped a lot, probably more then he knows but she still needs more time. But now she needs to put aside her own feelings for the good of everyone else. She can do that.

_Right?_

He nods and starts to head southeast, Nick following along behind him. She takes a deep breath, preparing herself to get back in the action. Keeping her back to them, she walks towards the drivers and doesn't know Hiromu has stopped and come back until he's right behind her.

Their eyes meet as she looks at him, confused. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handkerchief that he holds out to her. It's folded over twice, light blue stripes creating a pattern on the white cloth. She stares at it, doubtful of what to do.

"It's a bit crumpled but it's clean," he encourages her, his voice seemingly awkward. She tentatively reaches out a hand and takes it, their fingers just brushing. Even through their gloves she can feel the spark that dances up her hand, through her arm, streaking to her heart and settling there.

"Thanks…" she says softly, focusing on the cloth. It's soft and silken and warm. It's like a feeling of home, of love, of togetherness all wrapped up in a small piece of time and space.

"And thanks…for before," she adds, looking up now to see him. He just nods-now that he's set things right or at least in his mind, he's ready to save the world.

But not yet.

Not before he reaches up and strokes her cheek, his thumb catching one of her wayward tears before it reaches the edges of her face. It glistens on his black leather glove, sparkling in the evening sunlight.

"Be safe," he whispers before turning to rejoin Nick. She stares at his back until she hears a whirling sound and Usada's anxious voice.

"You alright Yoko? Get in!" She sighs and lifts Hiromu's handkerchief to her face, wiping away the dirt and tears and memories. It's soft against her skin even as she rubs-nothing compared to Hiromu's hand but the next best thing. It soothes her as it brushes off all that she wants to let go of.

She sniffs one last time before her eyes are cleared completely. No more tears. _No more tears. _

She gently puts the cloth in her pocket, feeling it clunk against her leg as she stands up straighter. She can do this.

"It's morphing time!" her brace calls as she turns the dial. Hiromu does the same and they're both surrounded by a green flow. As her suit appears, the feeling of helplessness and sadness slowly starts to drain away as newfound power finds its way in.

"Let's morphin'!" They both cry and their helmets appear, shining in the fading sun. Hiromu looks to her one last time before boarding Nick, who has already turned himself into a bike.

Maybe…maybe she's not so alone after all. Maybe she can get through this. Maybe she's okay. Maybe.

Just like a small cloth cleaning off dust or a hand brushing away tears or ice cooling a ravage fire, maybe that is all she needs.


End file.
